Austerity measures, introduced or planned in Spain to make that country eligible for economic aid from certain international agencies, may afford an early test of the present strength of the 20-year-old regime of Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Many observers dismissed recent signs of growing popular restiveness under dictatorial rule with the observation that most Spaniards were more concerned about consumer prices and job opportunities than about loss of civil liberties. However, drastic devaluation of the peseta will increase prices for imported products. Employment opportunities, moreover, may be seriously affected by removal of import restrictions, reductions in government spending, and credit restrictions—all called for by Spain's economic stabilization plan. Benjamin Welles reported in a dispatch from Madrid to the New York Times on July 18 that “Powerful resistance, overt and covert, is expected when austerity measures start taking effect.”

Strengthening of Spain's shaky economy has been considered essential since the country became of key importance in the defense of Western Europe, and the resultant international support has put the Franco regime in better position to withstand internal threats. Spain, isolated politically and economically in the first years after World War II, already has gained entry to the United Nations, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization for European Economic Cooperation.

Question Of Admitting Spain To Atlantic Pact

Continuing exclusion of Spain from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization appears more than ever anomalous now that a network of American military bases there is finally on the point of completion. State Department and Pentagon spokesmen long ago made known this country's desire to bring Spain into the North Atlantic alliance, but Great Britain, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and until recently France have stood out against admitting a country ruled by a dictator who was helped to power by Hitler and Mussolini.